The Salt Just Keeps It Sweet
by 4thFromTheFurnace
Summary: It was something unspoken. She hated the salt, and she hated the rumors. Surprisingly, he thought she worried too much.


**Happy New Years everyone! This is part of my Christmas Gift Fic Bonanza, even though it's New Years now. Just a short little one-shot to lighten the day. I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the characters, blah blah blah, you guys know that already.**

The sound of his boots was almost unmistakable, even on the earthy terrain. He was alone, she could sense, not just by the lack of sound from another pair of shoes, but because his swagger was always a little slower when he was alone.

"Hey Fuu."

She didn't make any movement to acknowledge his existence. She heard the footsteps continue until she sensed him beside her. As he casually began to sit down, she finally opened her mouth.

"Late." she murmured.

He swung his legs over the edge and held something out to her, "I know. I had to check on the town and settle something with the Losers Patrol."

"Seifer..." she warned, cautiously taking the item from his hand.

The young man released a slightly defeated growl, "Yeah, I know."

"Rai?" she asked, questioning the whereabouts of the dark-haired hulk. The blond cracked one of his shoulders, "He's still at the station, trying to count the steps. Don't get angry, he insisted to stay."

Fuu blew the bangs out of her face and held up the item he had given her, a questioning expression on her face. It was all so random, as if his whims were something that had no logic. By now, she had given up on trying to figure them out. Although, she couldn't help but be curious.

His gaze turned to stare at the horizon, "Aren't you going to eat it?"

Fuujin had always hated salt. It wouldn't have been much of a surprise if one suggested that her reason for hating it started long before that. She was little when she went to the beach, and one of the boys pushed her face first into the water. For almost an hour she tried to get the horrible taste of ocean water out of her mouth, amidst the coughing and hacking and spitting along the way. However, she would never admit to this being the reason.

She glanced at the ice cream in her hands, restraining the urge to glare at it in disgust. After all, he did buy it for her, so she might as well give it a try. Fuujin cast a glance at her leader, who bit off a large chunk of the ice cream bar and stared at the horizon. She once again shifted her attention to the mass of frozen matter and took a smaller bite. After a few seconds, she winced, her eyebrows furrowing in pain. A heavy exhale escaped from her lips before her angry remark, "Brain-freeze."

Seifer lifted an eyebrow as one corner of his mouth tilted in a smirk, slightly amused. Trying to massage the headache from her temples with one hand, the female shot him an icy glare. He sighed, defeated, "Alright, alright. Just don't look at me like that, sheesh."

With that, Fuu expected him to resume his consumption of the salty sweet ice cream. Instead, he stuck to the ice cream in his mouth, holding it with his teeth as he leaned over to put both calloused hands to her temples and massaged her head gently. Her slight surprise registered on her face before her eyes closed and her headache began to fade away.

As she lifted her eyelids, she wondered if Seifer's ice cream would melt in his mouth before he was able to get a hold of it again.

Too late. The ice cream bar broke and the remainder fell from his mouth, bounced off his coat a few times, and fell off the edge onto the ground below. Seifer swallowed the bit he had in his mouth and stared at the ground below, his eye beginning to twitch. He turned his head to look at her, "Not a word." he warned.

Nevertheless, her mouth quirked in regalement at his befallings and at the irony of his words. After a moment, his eyes returned to the horizon, watching as the sun slowly sank in the sky. She followed his gaze and returned her sight to the display of light before her.

He had never heard her say it, and he could hardly believe when it came out of her mouth as little more than a comment, an utterance in awe of the sunset.

"Beautiful."

Seifer turned his concentration onto his companion for a second, his eyes discretely scanning over her for the briefest of moments. He turned his head forward again as he opened his mouth, "It's probably better from the Clock Tower, but the same three weirdoes are up there all the time."

"Hill sufficient." she deduced, giving him the sign that she approved. With that, she continued to watch the sunset, barely nibbling on her ice cream. She knew full well what people said about Sunset Hill, and she knew all the gossip that originated about the people who were seen up there. Just because she didn't speak much didn't mean that she was deaf to all the noise people made all the time.

"Hey." his voice jerked her out of her thoughts, "Your ice cream's melting."

She turned her attentiveness to the edible glob on a stick, watching it as though she could melt the rest of it with her eyes. Before she could do anything else, Seifer took the stick from her hand and took a bite. As he watched her expression, he handed it back to her, "Well, you weren't eating it!"

Fuu studied it for a minute before consuming a small portion and handing the stick back to him, "Share?"

The blond accepted the ice cream and took another bite. Watching her, he understood. It was obligation, or devotion, or a mix of the two, that would permit her to allow room for speculation, soil, and gossip on her reputation.

People were going to talk. That was something that was going to be obvious. Most of the time Seifer might have cared for his dignity, and Fuu would have kept a better watch on her status, but the common understanding between them could sometimes cancel out those concerns.

Both continued to pass the ice cream stick back and forth until there was only a tiny bit of the frozen dessert still clinging to its handle. They sat rather silently, both drifting off into their own thoughts. Fuu's sight lowered to the ground and lingered there, barely noticing when Seifer held out the ice cream stick with the last bit of ice cream on it.

"You're acting weird." his face twisted in a curious sneer.

"Useful?" she spoke softly.

"What?" His eyebrows furrowed, one eyebrow lifting in confusion. She repeated, turning to face him as she took the ice cream stick from his hand, "Useful?"

"What, you?"

Fuujin gave a slight nod, her eyes unwilling to meet his stare. Seifer leaned back on his elbows and cracked his neck to the side, "If those losers tried to change you, so help me I'd shove my fist down their throats and-"

"Unthinkable." she interrupted snarkily, the popsicle stick still clenched between her teeth. Seifer's eyes hit the grass as he sighed, his low, arrogant voice deepening as he spoke seriously, scratching the back of his head, "Fuu..."

They both knew that he didn't have to finish his sentence. After a few seconds, he let out an amused snort, "That ice cream was really something."

"Nasty." she retorted, obviously a bit perturbed at his sudden change of subjects. He laughed sourly, "That's why you ate it!"

He waited a second, then chuckled again, "It was the saltiness, wasn't it?"

The girl shuddered in response. A confident sneer spread across his face, "You really didn't like it."

Finally, after one more mirthful cackle, his expression grew more serious, though still maintaining an air of arrogance about him. Only, a little bit of a gentler arrogance, "Salt acts as a preservative. Besides the flavor, the salt keeps the ice cream sweet." He gave a lofty snort, "Didn't know I knew that, didya?"

The woman rolled her eyes and stared at her knees, clutching the ice cream stick in her hands.

This time, it was her turn to change the subject, "Rumors."

Seifer sat up to scan his sight over Sunset Terrace, "Yeah, well, look where we are. People are gonna talk. My job is to put them in their place." an almost malicious smirk pulled at the edges of his mouth.

Fuu sighed, leaving no response. Seifer leaned back on his elbows again, "You know it drives me crazy when you're like this. You start acting like one of _them_. Emotional."

"Not." she retorted spitefully, abhorring the idea of being compared to the _them_ in question. Seifer's eyes grazed the grassy flooring as he scratched the back of his head with his hand briskly, "Fuu, it's like the ice cream."

She rotated her neck to look at him, and as she did, one of his hands rose to touch her chin, "I think we should...give them something to talk about."

He tugged Fuu's face down to meet his in a firm and brazen kiss. Seifer put so much force into her lips that Fuu had to put her arm on the other side of him to steady herself. He held her in lip-lock for more than a few instants, leaving her to think about his words. She really needed to stop worrying about the salt, because the salt just kept it sweet.

** Yes, hello. I'd like one helping of CHEESE topped with extra cheese and a side of cheese, please! I'm currently unsure about the ending, and I might edit it later, but this one does make me smile. Seifer's really hard to write, ya know? Tootles, y'all! Happy New Year and I'm still prayin' for ya! Give me a few words if you'd like!**


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